Like a River
by Ashplosion
Summary: "The sound of her black shawl hitting the floor grounded me back in reality, and her next words sent a shiver spiking down my spine. 'Shut your mouth and run me like a river.'"


**Author's notes:** This piece is inspired by Bishop's "River." I'm pretty sure I just like writing rough sex between these two, and the song is an excellent excuse to do so.

* * *

 _Shut your mouth and run me like a river._

She's so god damn frustrating sometimes. She spent the entire night whispering little things in my ear. Sometimes, they were sweet and loving; sometimes, they were naughty and made me blush. She was good at that, in a way that no one else had been. Then I'd woken up to find her gone, presumably to carry out her duties or return to her own room.

Then she'd worn that god damn dress to the ball, the one she'd only worn once, the one that I'd peeled off her the first time we'd made love the evening of the queen's announcement of her Senshi, Serenity's new guardians. This particular evening, I could barely focus on the queen's announcement of Serenity's engagement. I spent the entire ball struggling to ignore the tiny bit of cleavage exposed by the dark shawl covering her shoulders, struggling to ignore the shape of her body that the dress not-too-subtly revealed, struggling to quash my jealousy any time anyone looked at her with a glimmer of lust. Jadeite was high on my hit list, if he ever laid a hand on her.

Jealousy was largely a foreign emotion to me, but she seemed to bring out many things in me I thought I'd never feel.

The hint of skin the slit of the dress, the slit accented subtly by her Senshi colors, occasionally exposed kept drawing my gaze, particularly when Kunzite asked for a dance-and his spot on my list, just above Jadeite. I knew we were expected to dance with them, as the guardians of our respective charges, but his arm around her waist did nothing for my temper. I tried to distract myself by drawing Zoicite onto the dance floor with me, but as he lead us through the complicated steps of the Terran waltz, his surprise at my terischopy did little to draw my attention from her as she laughed at some joke Kunzite whispered into her ear. He glanced toward them and turned his head briskly back to me; jealousy was written on his face as clearly as it was mine.

As Zoicite and I exited the dance floor, I abandoned him for a glass of wine. I'd never tried the blood-red wine the Earthlings had imported for the occasion; maybe it would prove distracting enough. I certainly hoped it was stronger than the bluish Lunar wine usually offered at these balls. Halfway through my second glass, however, the glint of her earrings in the low light caught my eye as she laughed again. His hand sliding further down her back sent a pulse of anger through me, but Zoicite reappeared and grabbed my wrist and shook his head to remind me where we were. I couldn't cause a scene, and I hated that he was right.

I usually wasn't this possessive of her.

He and I hung close to the wall as we watched them and continued working on the bottle of wine I'd snagged. We were gradually moving toward the balcony area as Kunzite slowly lead her off the dance floor. I grimaced when he offered her a glass of wine, which she accepted with a smile.

The soldier in me wanted to devise tactics, to confront and destroy the enemy. The diplomat in me knew that letting a beautiful woman work her charm on a lustful man would be to our advantage. The lover in me-her lover- wanted to kiss her roughly in front of him and claim her as my own, because she belongs to me. The streak of jealousy in me wanted to tear his arm from his socket.

The look on Zoisite's face said much the same.

The queen didn't care that she and I were lovers, didn't care that Zoisite and Kunzite were lovers. For the sake of both kingdoms, we were expected to put on a facade of close relations. The prince had given his guardians their orders, and the queen had given us ours. I had no other choice but to follow those orders the rest of the evening.

That evening proved to be torture, both sweet and bittersweet, for me.

Periodically, our eyes would lock and she'd flash me a loving smile or a sexy grin. And she'd be gone, just a moment later, every time. Kunzite continued to request dances and drinks and her time at every turn. Every dance saw his hand drift lower down her back; every drink lengthened the duration of her laugh at whatever silly thing he'd said to her. Every moment, every sweep of the clock's second hand, every laugh, every smile, every step of every dance tightened the spring in me until I thought I'd snap. It didn't help that Jadeite would grab himself another glass of wine and leer at her, during the time he could shake Makoto's presence. The Lunar guards staring at her did nothing to calm me; no one had ever seen her look quite _this_ beautiful in a long time. She hadn't worn that god damn dress in so long, her hair hadn't seen the fancy up-do in so long, no one had seen her as the nobility of her planet for so long that nearly everyone was surprised as she was presented as a guardian of the princess. No one had seen these things but me, that was. Everyone was surprised by her beauty this evening, including me.

I couldn't avoid feeling sick as Kunzite led her to a mostly vacated balcony to look at the stars. I nearly stormed across the room again, but Zoisite caught my hand once more and asked me if I'd accompany him out for "a romantic moment." He pointed out that we could simply pretend to not know that they'd made their exit. With that, he offered his arm, and I wrapped my hands around it gently. I couldn't stand to look at him; he seemed to feel the same. Instead, we both focused our gazes on my glove wrapped around his sleeve-the white of my glove seemed to lose itself in the white and silver of his jacket-much like I'd lost myself in her. I suspected he had similar thoughts concerning himself and his own lover.

The cool night air stung my face in a way I should've been used to, but wasn't. She'd guided me to a balcony during more than one ball, always under the pretense of unease around so many others. I'd kissed her during that first ball, and as one kiss turned into many, we'd slipped away from the festivities and to my chambers. I'd caressed her thigh through the slit in that dress, and somehow, _somehow_ , I'd pulled that god damn dress off her and pulled her to my bed before she could leave. She hadn't planned on leaving.

Zoicite requested a word with Kunzite, and before she could react, I tugged her to the opposite end of the balcony, around a pillar that would hide us from view of the party. I kissed her, allowing all of my jealousy and anger and frustration to pour into the kiss, and when I pulled back, she merely smirked at me. I growled at the slight, and reminded her that she really had _no idea_ what that god damn dress did to me. She laughed lightly; her earrings flashed in the faint light from the earth. The dark material of her glove snaked its way along my cheek as her tongue swiped at my lips, and she wordlessly reinitiated the kiss. I glanced around the pillar and found, much to my delight, that the Shittenou pair were attempting a clandestine exit. When I suggested we do the same, that light laugh became a sexy smirk, and I was silently thankful that Makoto and Ami were scheduled to guard Serenity for the celebration.

I peppered the journey to my room with remarks about the dress, about her smile, about her grin, and she merely laughed or squeezed my hand in response. The attention she'd received from Kunzite—from someone who _wasn't me_ —combined with the alcohol did nothing for my possessiveness. Her amusement fueled my anger just as much as the slight inebriation. She may have been used to drinking the strongest wine in the solar system, but I favored the Lunar stuff myself. As I closed the door to my chamber, she turned and grinned at me. The scraping of the lock into place did nothing to cover her soft voice as she said the first word she'd spoken to me since the party began, as she spoke my name.

"Minako." Our eyes locked; hers flashed violet. She smirked as if she liked the way my name tasted on her tongue. My fingertips itched to light under the crimson accents to the slit in that god damn dress; the crimson earrings glinted in the low light. My other hand wanted to throw the pair of sticks in her hair across the room and lose itself in the long, black locks. The sound of her black shawl hitting the floor grounded me back in reality, and Rei's next words sent a shiver spiking down my spine. "Shut your mouth and run me like a river."

 _Shut your mouth, Baby, stand and deliver_

I didn't need any more encouragement. I slammed her roughly to the door and claimed her lips again, even more frustration pouring out of me than I'd released on the balcony. My fingertips ran along her thigh, weaving themselves through the crimson and deep purple layers of the slit on the god damn dress; I knew there's be stripes of bruises there in the morning in the shape of my fingers.

My other hand trailed up her shoulder and closed around the back of her neck. "You really have no fucking idea what that god damn dress does to me, do you?" The soft murmur against her lips was met with a quiet groan. The startling violet of her eyes bored into me again as that smirk flitted over her features.

"Or maybe I do," she purred in response. "Maybe I do, and maybe I know you'll fuck me with all the passion the Senshi of Fire and Passion deserves." The smirk darkened; I brought my knee under the slit of her dress and crushed myself against her. Her head tipped back and hit the door; her teeth caught her lower lip as our eyes locked again.

"Maybe I'll just fuck you against the door," I ground out. Her forehead found my shoulder and she panted quietly against my chest. "Maybe I'll remind you that I am the goddess of not just love and beauty... but I'm also the goddess of sex. Maybe I'll remind you that I'm you're my subordinate. Maybe I'll remind you that teasing the goddess of sex is not a good idea." A breathless laugh caught her throat.

"And maybe I'll let you, because I'm more than the goddess of war and fire. I'm the goddess of passion." My hand curled around her waist as her hands found the clasp in my hair and freed the long blonde strands from their prison.

"Maybe I'll remind you that you belong to me. Make no mistake, Rei: you are mine." Her light laugh turned into a gasp as my thumb bit into her hip; that gasp melted back into her breathless laugh.

"And maybe I'll remind you that I love you." I smiled despite myself and kissed her hair.

"And maybe I'll let you," I whispered just loudly enough for her to hear. The hand I'd held to the back of her head forced her to kiss me; it was every bit as rough and demanding as the fire between us had ever been.

I knew she loved me. She gave me a level of control over her that was unheard of for a Martian. She submitted to me in every way, with every drop of blood in her veins. The control and her submission did something to me that I couldn't explain, but to have that trust placed in me lit a fire in me that I never knew was possible.

That trust, that submission, brought out the need to possess her in only a way a Venusian—a goddess, at that—could ever possess another. If she didn't love me, if she didn't know that I love her, the heat between us would have never gotten so intense.

And I discovered she was nothing _but_ heat as the fingers of one hand tightened against the back of her neck and brought her mouth to mine and the fingers of my other hand found their mark.

 _Holy hands, oh, they make me a sinner_

Rei was deceptively complex and wonderfully simple all at once. When I take her, I can do as I please. _That_ is what I mean when I possess her thoroughly, deeply. I can fuck her, or I can make love to her. I can make demands, or I can ask permission. I have caressed her, bitten her, bruised her, hit her, cuddled her, held her, embraced her, and so much more. Our relationship is a power struggle in so many ways. We always rise to meet the challenge of the other, but when I slide the lock on my door, _she belongs to me_.

I slid my fingers as deeply into her as I could and caught her lower lip between my teeth. I was ready to take my frustration out on her, to show her how much she'd teased me, to spend the rest of the night fucking her as hard and slowly as possible.

Her chest stuttered against mine as her grip tightened on me, and I resisted the urge to rip that god damn dress off her. I set my fingers to work in a slow pace, but every thrust seemed harder and harder than the last. I tasted blood in my mouth—her blood—and her hips finally caught the rhythm of my hand. I knew it wouldn't be long before the only thing holding her up was my body pinning hers to the door, but I honestly didn't care.

Her head thumped against the door again, and my fingers found the pair of sticks holding her hair into place. I tossed them across the room and she shook her head slightly, freeing her hair. "You need me," she growled before the growl melted into a moan. "It drives you absolutely fucking insane when someone else shows me attention." I nipped the lobe of her ear, and she gave me another breathless laugh. "Most would think you're me when it comes to that, being driven up the wall with jealousy."

The sight of her earrings in the Earthlight angered me all over again, and I thrust into her so hard her entire body knocked against the door and her feet left the ground for a split second. I was grateful I'd locked the door. The click of her heels against the floor as she landed once more brought me back to her. She was right, though. She was always right. The possibility of her having another lover brought out the need to have her, take her, possess her in a way that only I could. I always had to remind her that it was _me_ she shared a bed with, _my_ chambers she spent nearly every night in, _my_ arms wrapped around her at night. I sometimes wondered how she _didn't_ get jealous when another showed attention to me, but I had my suspicions as to what prevented that jealousy. My own reaction was a pretty good security net for her.

Part of me knew she'd always be faithful, and the other part of me knew she did this just to drive me up the god damn wall. She was so good at that. The mere sound of that fucking breathless laugh of hers, that laugh reserved just for me and the battlefield, caused me to pull away from her before she finished and drag her toward the bed. Somewhere along the way, she'd lost her shoes. I pushed her toward the edge and she sat obediently, watching silently as I tugged my gloves off. I regarded the stain on my right hand for a moment before tossing the pair away, somewhere to join the chopsticks from her hair. That dark smirk slid across her face again and my fingers found the fastening to that god damn dress, the one just between her shoulder blades. Teeth found her collarbone, and she gave me an appreciative groan once more as blood— _her blood_ —met my tongue.

Her fingertips curled into my shoulders; I knew she'd leave marks there just the way I'd leave them littering her body by the night's end.

 _Choke this love till the veins start to shiver_

The fastening at the base of her spine wasn't long in joining its companion, and I shoved her back, determined to peel the fucking dress off her in the same slow, agonizing manner that I had the first time. My nails raked up her newly-exposed spine, and I couldn't help but notice that her skin was burning beneath my touch. We made eye contact for a brief moment, and that arching eyebrow dispelled any concerns I had. I felt disconnected from my own hands as they moved of their own accord, across her ribs and lowering the bodice away from her chest. I nearly jumped out of my skin when she spoke again, shattering the silence.

"I love you," she said quietly. The electric thrill that shot through me was just as intense as it had been the very first time I heard those words from her, and I couldn't help but ease her back onto the bed as I cupped her cheek and kissed her so softly, so sweetly that the mood suddenly changed.

"I love you, too," I whispered in response.

My hands, though, had been set on their path, had disconnected themselves from me, and resumed their original task.

The rough press of my thumb into her hip caused her to cry out into the kiss, and I pushed myself off of her, pulling the bodice along with me. The dress peeled easily off her hips, and within moments, I had a naked goddess, _my_ naked goddess, before me.

I stared for a long moment before she laughed and lightly teased me. "What's the matter, Venus? Afraid Kunzite claimed my undergarments before you had the chance?"

Backhanding her was far too easy, but I'd forgotten I was wearing a ring. The scratch the stone left across her face broke our only real rule in the bedroom: no marks that couldn't be hidden easily. She blinked rapidly for a moment before touching her fingertips to the dim wetness trickling down her cheek; the guilt in me became anger as she laughed much harder this time.

My fingertips wound into her hair and jerked her head back as roughly as I dared before my tongue soothed the new wound on her cheek. She moved her hands to my hips, holding me above her and whispered in my ear, sweet things, sexy thing, it didn't matter. The red-hot anger in me couldn't hear them and didn't care to. I pulled back and studied her cheek.

She pushed me away for a moment and removed her gloves as she glared at me. "That wasn't nice," she said with that god damn laugh of hers. She wiped what little bit of blood still remained away with the limp glove in her hand and tossed it aside, ready for me again.

"I don't have to be nice," I hissed as I shrugged off my own dress, not wanting to bother with it later. "I don't have to be a fucking thing, Rei." With that, I captured her mouth again, biting on her lip harder than I ever had over the years of our relationship, the years of her complete and utter submission to me in the bedroom, the years I'd enjoyed dominating her, taking all that she had, giving it back in a completely different form.

I'd be lying if I said the sex didn't make me a better person, a better partner for her. The trust she placed in me caused me to trust not only her, especially her judgment, but also myself. I rarely broke our rule, and never on purpose. That faith in myself spurred me to be a better leader, a better person, a better lover.

She caught me by surprise as her fingers wound themselves around my thighs and straight into me as hard and fast as I'd caught her against the door. I gasped and our foreheads touched for a long moment as the new sensation hit me, as I contemplated how to touch her next.

I settled for much the same as she was doing, but I was hellbent on bringing her to the finish first.

I resumed the hard, slow pace from the door, and with each upstroke, I ripped some small noise from her throat. Some were ragged gasps, some were soft groans, some were that fucking breathless laugh that drove me insane. The feeling of her nails digging into my lower back and her fingers faltering at their task pulled me over the edge along with her.

A long moment of recovery meant I had to kiss her again, kiss her sweetly again. She responded with every ounce of emotion within her as I held her close, never wanting the moment to end. I deepened the kiss as her skin burned the fingertips travelling from her cheek to her neck, and without my consent, they suddenly closed around her throat. She let out a strangled sound, something not quite Martian, not quite goddess. Our eyes connected and hers widened in fear, but somehow, it took forever for my brain finally to regain control of my renegade hands and release my hold on the arteries in her neck. She shivered and fell heavily against the bed as the blood rushed to her brain, suddenly breaking free from the dam my hand had created. The air she sucked in had no traces of that laugh of hers; I hadn't even blocked off her air. Those lavender eyes stayed unfocused for a long moment before locking with mine. The love, the lust I usually saw there hid behind a mask of fear, before she finally squashed her feelings and gave me a blank stare.

It scared me sometimes, how easy it was to do these things.

 _One last breath, till the tears start to wither_

We continued to stare for a long moment, her blank amethyst against my raging blue. "Come here, Love," I whispered quietly. She hesitated for a long moment before moving toward me obediently, and I held her to me. Her head rested on my chest next to her palm, flat above my heart. She said nothing, and I barely felt her breathing.

"I'm sorry," she whispered quietly.

"No, Rei." My response was more forceful than intended, and I had to temper the emotion, the violence in my voice. She flinched slightly, and I brushed my fingertips through her hair lightly. "No, you shouldn't be sorry." She shivered slightly, and I wrapped a blanket from the stack at the foot of my bed around us. "I got caught up, carried away..." As I trailed off, she shifted so she could look at me, really look at me, with her chin on my chest and her hand around my waist.

My voice sounded strange to me as I continued speaking, but I had words that needed to be said, words that couldn't wait now that I had done what I did, now that I'd hurt her. "You trust me, you submit to me in ways that strengthen me, help make me a better person. Sometimes, that strength, that confidence spills out in dangerous ways." A tear slipped down her cheek; I wiped it away with my thumb. "I never meant to hurt you, Reiko. I love you."

And she laughed that god damn breathless laugh as she moved to kiss me, the way the last kiss should've gone. "And I love you, Mina," as our lips met.

 _Shut your mouth and run me like a river._


End file.
